Last month, Kanye West announced 21 pop up shops worldwide selling his Life of Pablo album merchandise. Pop up shops aren’t new concepts. In fact, they are tried and true methods of hawking goods on the cheap.
21 PABLO STORES WORLDWIDE THIS WEEKEND LOCATIONS HEREhttps://t.co/tYuzqs7kJW
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 18, 2016
It came with some much needed reminders about the beauty and effectiveness of pop up shops in marketing real products.
Hubba summarized 4 of them:
That said, pop-ups are often a fantastic (and often more accessible) option for new businesses, for several reasons:
1. They’re low on cost. Costing a mere fraction of what opening up a full blown brick and mortar location would, pop-ups are great for those with lower budgets. A smaller space (for a shorter amount of time) and less inventory mean that a significantly smaller portion of your profit goes towards overhead and inventory costs.
2. They’re great for building brand awareness. Whether it’s a retail space on busy street, an event space or a store-within-a-store, you’re almost guaranteed to see new customers who, at the very least, want to know who you are, why you’re there and what you’re selling. It’s a great opportunity build a buzz and educate consumers on your product as well.
3. They’re great for targeted selling. On the other side of the coin above, you can easily set up shop right smack in the middle of where you know your core customer is likely to be milling around. This is especially great if you’re primarily an e-commerce brand; show your consumer another side of you, a physical side. This is where the magic of experiential marketing comes in. Appeal to your customer’s senses and create an even stronger bond!
4. They’re a great learning experience. If nothing else, use your pop-up experience to figure out what your customers want from you as a store. Gain better insights into their needs and collect feedback on what you’re doing right (or wrong).
Here is a tutorial to show you how to run your own Pop Up shop like pro.
photos: Taylor Jewell
